The next five days will be "make or break" for Engadine small business owner Kim Key.

Ms Key, who operates Engadine Florist in Station Street, said she had spent $10,000 on fresh produce, including "beautiful flowers, plants and gifts", for Christmas, and needed to recoup that sum while meeting her normal costs and catching up on a very bad winter of trading.

"Our Christmas will really start on Friday and we will be absolutely flat out on Saturday and Sunday and delivering until Christmas Eve," she said.

"We encourage people to come in, call or go on to our website."

Ms Key gave NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey a rundown on the challenges she faced when he and Heathcote MP Maryanne Stuart visited small business owners in Engadine in the lead-up to Christmas.

"I need to take $5000 a week just to open the doors, before buying stock," Ms Key said.

"We need a bit of a tax break from government."

Ross Maiorana, who has operated Knockout Shoes in Station Street for 45 years, told Mr Mookhey people were really struggling.

"There is not a lot of money around and people are tightening their belts more than normal," he said.

Mr Maiorana said, traditionally, January was their busiest month with back-to-school sales, but he is not sure what to expect this year.

"All we can do is pray and hope for the best," he said.

Mr Mookhey and Ms Stuart also met with the Sutherland Shire Business Chamber.

Business chamber president Jeanne Zweck thanked Ms Stuart for arranging the meeting.

"Following on from the Spotlight on the Shire event with the Premier, Ms Stuart took particular interest in a number of the issues raised and we appreciated the opportunity to discuss these with the Treasurer and highlight the need for investment in the shire," Ms Zweck said.

"In addition to addressing the cost of living issues impacting businesses, we highlighted several key opportunities which the Treasurer was very open and supportive about, including:

Developing a teaching hospital/campus at the Sutherland Hospital
Residential development above key transport nodes to ultimately link in to the M6 extension and Heathcote Road upgrade
Leveraging the vibrancy reforms to enliven the shire's entertainment, retail and hospitality sectors
Tapping in to the innovation agenda by leveraging key assets in the shire such as Ansto

"We look forward to further engagement with the government to realise these opportunities and thank the Treasurer for his time and listening to our business community."